Ethical Travel Is More Than a Trend

Madeleine Parkin
5/18/2026

Ethical travel has long been something a passionate few have felt very strongly about, but the tourism industry has largely ignored it.

However, ethical travel is growing in popularity, and more and more travelers understand that the ramifications of travel can extend beyond environmental sustainability and community concerns. According to Statista, in 2024, more than 80% of global travelers believed sustainability was important. Meanwhile, Booking.com’s 2025 Sustainable Travel Report found that, for the first time, more than half (53%) of travelers were conscious of the impact of travel on communities as well as the environment.

The internet and social media both make it easier for guests to understand the impact of their travel decisions and to choose the most ethical option, cross-checking, and even asking locals for their opinions.

This may well also be attached to the growing search for “off the beaten path” destinations. When you go to a busy city or beach resort and feel the negative effects of overtourism, it’s hard not to feel guilty. So, when travelers look for a more authentic or quieter spot for their next trip, it’s not only for the peace and quiet, but also to feel that their visit has a smaller negative footprint.

In the vacation rental industry, we should see this as a real opportunity. Much of what guests want is already built into how this industry works—we just need to communicate it.

Vacation Rental Is Already Committed to Communities

The short-term vacation rental industry keeps getting framed by others as extractive. We see claims that the sector is taking housing away from communities, pushing out locals, and sending money away from towns and cities. In some markets, that perception has stuck, even though it doesn’t reflect the true reality.

Most property managers know that their own business looks very different.

This is not an industry dominated by global chains. It is made up of local operators by its very nature—large chains simply can’t provide the service required across such diverse markets and stock. That means employing local people, using local suppliers, and paying local taxes—money circulates in the same place it is earned.

The impact goes beyond our own businesses, too. A guest in a hotel might never leave the buffet. The local economy would be lucky to even get the benefit of a fridge magnet purchase from an all-inclusive visitor. Meanwhile, short-term rental guests eat out at locally owned restaurants and cafés, shop for local produce, and pay for attractions.

Encourage Ethical Behavior

This isn’t just an argument for city council meetings (though it is helpful for that, too). It’s also a huge benefit for guests.

Guests remember the bakery they found, not the lobby they passed through. They remember the recommendation that felt personal, not the one everyone gets. That kind of experience does not happen by accident.

Ethical travel is not just about the choice of accommodation; it’s an end-to-end journey. It’s about how guests get to the destination, where they spend, how they move around, how they use resources, and how they interact with the local community.

Making Ethical Travel Easy

The gap between intention and action is where most ethical travel falls down.

Guests might care, but convenience still wins. If the easiest option is a taxi over public transport, or a chain restaurant over a local one, that’s often what they’ll choose—not out of indifference, but out of a desire to reduce friction.

That’s where property managers have a real, practical advantage.

You have more power over the guest’s full experience than you think. Pre-arrival emails, digital guidebooks, check-in messages, and even physical resources in the property are all points of influence that will guide guests in what they do and where they go.

So, make the ethical choice the easy one.

Don’t just say “we encourage using public transport”—give them clear instructions on which bus they need to take and what ticket to ask for. Recommend local restaurants and even specific local delicacies, and if you can negotiate a discount with the owner of a neighborhood restaurant, even better.

This also means suggesting the difficult things. Sustainability, in particular, must move past gestures to real choices. If there’s a drought, suggest how they can reduce their water consumption, and why they should. Locals shouldn’t have to suffer so tourist accommodations can just put up a “please save water” sign and carry on. Appeal to common sense: Most guests would never leave the doors and windows open with the air conditioning on at home, and they just need a gentle reminder not to do it on vacation.

This is where vacation rentals can outperform larger operators. In a big hotel, that kind of local guidance depends entirely on who’s working the concierge desk that day. On a global platform, it’s generic, if it even exists.

But for a local operator, it can be consistent, intentional, and embedded into the guest experience from the very beginning.

A Narrative Worth Owning

The vacation rental industry doesn’t need to reinvent itself to make ethical travel possible. It’s a case of something we need to recognize, refine, and communicate.

The foundations are already there: local teams, local impact, local knowledge. What’s been missing is the clarity and the confidence to position those strengths as part of a bigger story.

Nowadays, when guests choose where to stay, they’re not just choosing a destination or a property. They’re choosing what kind of impact they want their trip to have.

If we can make that choice visible and easy, we can exceed guest expectations and shift the narrative about our industry at the same time.

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